Attitude, no matter what line of work you are in is going to make or break the day.   Good people with a bad attitude is still a bad attitude.

How we look at our selves, the situatation we find our selves in, can be really good with a good attitude or totally negative.   The secret of getting rid of a bad attitude?   If there is a secret, it involves a change in attitude.

If we refuse to see the bad, think the bad   or to do the bad and instead, do the right thing, see the good, think the good we are going to feel better. After all, isn’t attitude really about how we feel…emotionally?

Here are some tips on how to change attitude.

If you are overweight, seek and act to get rid of the extra pounds, you will feel better about yourself.

If you are broke, down on your luck, go help somebody who needs it, shovel a walk, mow a lawn, get rid of clutter, read an inspiring book, get your attitude up and guess what, you will find an answer and be able to make decisions about what really matters.

One of the master turn arounds to getting your attitude on track is to look at your goal and make a list of the important things you need to do today to reach that goal then chip away at it.

Sidney Harris, a long time feature writer for a Detroit Paper many years ago commented when asked,   “Sidney, what do you do if you don’t feel like writing a daily column today?”   He replied, “I write one anyway.”   Sometimes we just have to push on through those dark clouds of attitude to “next” and get it done.

Bargain Luxury Homes in the suburbs west of the Detroit Metro Area near to and around the GM Proving Grounds are alive and well. Declining prices have affected upper end luxury homes as well as the middle and lower end homes.
Some of these homes are in foreclosure and are bank owned, others are in a short sale situation with final prices still to be determined, while many are still neither of those but are still good values.

In a simple search this past weekend, looking for high end, distressed properties for a client looking in the Michigan Brighton and Milford Communities there were several nice ones. In fact about 8 outstanding candidates showed up as available.

These are what we call “lifestyle” homes where elegant kitchens spill into large great rooms and open   curved staircases grace two story entrances.

Elegance is all in ones personal taste.   Of course many bank owned properties are bruised and some are worse than that, so one needs to go in prepared to see the potential of their bargain home with a dose of reality of what it might take to bring it back to the “standards” that once made it a standout.

While one might have to wait a little longer on a short sale, it is usually in better condition that the bank owned home. Maybe some deferred care and the landscaping may need some attention, but they are still great deals.

Even the homes that are not in distress, are well maintained are good buys because the seller’s realize that they must compete if they want to move.

If you are moving to the Detroit area as a transferee or as someone looking to find an elegant home and have over $450000.00 to a Million to invest, have I got some great ones to show you.   Contact me, Bill Park and let’s talk.

Today more than 90% of buyers are using the Internet to look at property listings on the web. They seem to enjoy the anonymity of being able to search and to not have to interact with an agent.   Many figure that they will find the house they are looking for on line but sooner or later they will need to call the agent or at least an agent.

Scary thought?   Not really.   When I meet a new potential client for the first time I like to have a “sit down” with them so that we can look at each other eye to eye and have a conversation.   However brief, it is a necessary part.

Usually they are looking for something special. They just have not found it yet, of if they think they have, the want to see it “right now.”

But like any relationship that is going to go for long, one needs to spend a little time getting to know one another.   I will often talk with a new client for a little bit and if they feel that they really don’t know if they can trust me. I will explain, in my book anyway, “trust comes with honesty.”

And one needs time to build that trust.   But even better, the State of Michigan backs this up with a lot of law regarding agency and disclosure of agency relationship.

On my web site at Parkplaces.com is this article that gets into the that disclosure about real estate relationships.

Add to that some of the testimonials of others and you begin to tell if I am the kind of agent you would like to trust with one of the most important buying decisions you will make in your life.   It is a big deal to me too.

A Notice of Default (NOD) on your home mortgage is very serious. In my market area covering real estate in Howell, Brighton, Fowlerville, Hartland and Pinckney Michigan, the numbers of Notices of Default are increasing as are Notices of Foreclosure(NOF).However, as soon as you are notified with a NOD here is what you need to do to protect yourself and your credit from being tagged for years to come with a Foreclosure.

1. Contact the legal firm in the NOD (Michigan Provides that you can do this) representing your Lender and Note Holder. Ask for a meeting. Why? this will slow the process down a few weeks so you can at least see what your final options are to either save your home from foreclosure or save your credit from being ruined by a credit crushing “foreclosure” on you credit for the next upteen years.
2. Call your lender and ask if you can qualify for a mortgage modification, even if you were denied before. Ask to see if they offer any mortgage foreclosure “alternative” programs.  And if they do, ask for them to send you the paperwork.
3. Contact Bill Park, Realtor and Associate Broker at Keller Williams Realty in Brighton Michigan to help you sort out your options.
4. Keep a notebook of all your contacts, their name, date you called and who you called, what you promised to do and what they said for you to do.
5. Keep all  correspondence  and emails in a folder and make sure you keep it in order. If you have a binder and have a 3 hole paper punch, then keep it in sections. In other words, keep it organized.  Being organized will take out some of the stress.
6. Finally, follow up.  When you send something to someone, fax something, follow up in two days. Follow up until you know that they got it.

Bill Park has been assisting home buyers, sellers and investors for 25 years and can provide expert guidance to help you decide your options.  Contact me.

Buy a cheap home?   Bargains for sale? Foreclosure deals?   Cheap dream homes for sale?
When trying to find out what people   looking for a home today use as a key search word, it is enough to drive one a little nuts. I mean, what is it? Do we want a “cheap” home or a home for real cheap? I think the later, don’t you?

On the other hand when we are looking for an “in-expensive” home we want the most home we can get for the least amount of money. Right?   We want to have a great location, a home in good condition and, we want a great interest rate on our mortgage loan too.   Oh, for cheap, but we don’t mean like cheaply built, looks cheap…we want it classy…and well, “cheap.”
Sounds like the current market right now doesn’t it.   We are seeing an historic change in what is avialable for purchasing a home, what interest rates for mortgages are so opportunity is knocking.   Hey, are you going to answer the door?   Opportunity is there, so answer the door and get going.

As the end of this year comes to a close, the question “how’s the real estate market ?   Anybody buying?   Well, ch-yeah. They have been. And the the news is that there was lots of activity and December is rolling in strong with closed deals and some new buyers on the scene.

But before we wax to cleaverly lets take a look in the rear view mirror,   Livingston County preliminary stats are looking like this:

There are currently about 1164 properties on the market.   Sold and closed this year so far, 2064 and currently waiting to close as pending sales, 278.   I would say that is pretty robust.

Are Prices down?   Not really.   In fact the Median Sales Price is $144,900, up from last years $144,000. And another sign that there has been a shift, the days on market has dropped from 131 to 118 days.

Kind of boring stuff if you are not interested in that kind of stats but foreclosures are still the topic as they are pacing short sales almost 2 to 1.   There have been 752 bank owned homes sold and 338 short sales closed this year.   Fowlerville leads the foreclosure numbers with 1 in 165 housing units in foreclosure. But the rest of the county does not need to gloat, The Howell area has 119 or one in every 173 housing units.

Fewer agents are in the business now as long closing times and frustrating delays drive many out of the business to find full time work elsewhere.  Being a fulltime agent, takes full time!  

How long are in for this housing decline?   It will be several years of steady climbing back.   For those that need to sell, call and lets talk about what your options are.   For those who are ready to buy, lets go get two or three…Prices are low and money is cheap.

I grew up in little neighborhood in Howell Michigan. At our house Santa would always bring a big, BIG orange for our stocking, lots of nuts to fill the toe and probably a pop corn ball and a toy.  The tree was usually a fresh cut one and was in either the dining room or the living room.  We would decorate it with cranberrys strung on a piece of thread and wrapped around the tree.  We used lots of tinsel too. By today’s standards it was pretty funky but back then it was so exciting, and it was incredible to a 6 year old. Christmas was a big deal.  The baby Jesus, the angels on the tree, Santa Claus… In the eyes of a six year old, it was all so magical.

Bobby lived “kaddie corner”  he and I would get together later in the day to compare what we got. Bobby was one of those kids that had a birthday in December. I thought he was so lucky, double dipping in December. Their tree was always so perfect. Bob’s mom was so fussy, each piece of tinsel was “perrrfect”.  We threw ours on.  Their lights were strung like works of art.  Ours were “on” the tree. You get the picture. Anyway, we would play with each others stuff some, then I’d pack up and head for another friends house to  check out their  stuff. 

This month Bobby passed away on his birthday.  He was 71. He left a lot of good memories along the way, with a lot of people.  He was an Eagle Scout,a husband, a dad, a grandpa, had a huge group of friends and I always looked up to him too. The kid that always wore suspenders (I think it was his mom’s idea) turned out to be a great contributor to our world.  Merry Christmas Bob.

Hi there Home Buyers, there is a reason why they call it a “buyer’s market.”   Buyers who are reluctant to get out and find a great home now or want to wait until the prices get better are missing on of the greatest buying times of this generation.   Folks, the seller’s have given up, they just want to take their licks and get going.  So one person’s loss is another’s gain.

So what is the best way to get started?   Before you go shopping for a home, get an expert to help.  Someone who  can be an advisor, an advocate and help you negotiate a great contract.  In fact, down load this  e-book ONLY 8 STEPS TO HOME if you are a first time buyer and it will help you begin.

To even give you more help, take a look at www.parkplaces.com to review the current market, find great deals and all the foreclosure listings in my market area of south eastern Michigan and Livingston County.

Some interesting RealcompII statistics for Buyers and Sellers!

If you are a buyer, you had better get serious.   Inventory will shrink as foreclosure action slows for awhile. After the midterm   elections in November 2010 I expect that interest rates will go up from altime lows since the Eisenhower Presidency in the 1950s. Sellers who what to sell and who are not in trouble, will get the best prices now as opposed to when a flood of foreclosures hit the market once the lenders and investors get their acts together.

SHORT SALES STILL A VIABLE WAY TO GO FOR SELLERS WHO NEED TO GET OUT BUT ARE UPSIDE DOWN…

And don’t forget about short sales. Sellers who really need to get going can still sell short if they have a true hardship.   ThIS market is A very good for opportunity seekers on both sides!

Here are some recent Livingston County Stats on Existing Residential Home For Sale in select areas.

 Residential homes available in the Hartland, Howell, Brighton and Pinckney School Districts:

$100K to $150K                                               $150K to $200K                                               $200K to $250K

Available Homes                                             178 Homes                                                                 205 Homes                                                                 155 Homes

% Private Sales                                                   54.5%                                                                               73.7%                                                                           85.8%

% Short / Bank Owned                           45.5%                                                                               26.3%                                                                             14.2%

Total Sales are down by 5.6%

Residential & Condo inventory is down by 16.6%

Median Sale Price is up by 3.5%

Median Sale Price of Foreclosures is up 14.1%

Median Sale Price of Non-Foreclosures is down 2.0%

Days on Market for Foreclosures 45 days

Days on Market for Non-Foreclosures 138 days

Non-Foreclosure sales outpace foreclosure sales   After declining for 30 months, home prices are trending back up

                                              Bill’s commentary and opinion:

What this means:   For Existing Home Owners who want to sell, this may be the best market to sell.   Why?   The freeze and TEMPORARY halt to foreclosure action by lenders is only for a little while. Inventory of available homes will shrink, for a little while too.   Buyers who need to buy will have less selection.
And after the mid term election in November, it is my opinion that we will see a rise in mortgage interest rates as the need to “politicize interest” lessens! It seems to always happen. This increases the pressure on buyers to get in and buy or get out of the way. Bidding for good deals will become very noticable.
My advice: Buyers, bring your highest and best offer first.
Sellers, Show case the heck out of it, make it shine, attract
top quaility buyers and let the party begin.

This is a copy of an email sent by me to my niece and her husband after a day of shopping for a new home. I could tell there was discouragement in their voices as we looked at the first ones that they had been so excited about.   Of course, the ones we always seem to want are the ones that are just not in the budget for a family, “that perfect one” with all the stuff.   If we all could have all we want we still are not happy, not happy until we make it home, “our home”.   Here is the email, I hope you can enjoy it.

“Hope you two are not discouraged by the ones that we saw today.   As you both can see, there are no perfect ones out there. I don’t think that the perfect house is ever really found.   It is about living there and growing a family and friends.   It is a place, however humble or grand that becomes lived in and then it becomes comfortable, feels safe and secure and we know that when we come home at night, that there is love and security  inside, good food and the joy of family growing and loving. That is what makes the house a perfect warm and inviting  home.

We don’t have to scale back our dreams, we will have them, sometimes progressivly and eventually,  just not right now, sometimes we never get to the final part, but instead,  stop to relish the journey as we make our way finding that we did get enough room, although not just the way we envisioned, maybe we did get a couple of neat things included that we did not expect but all in all we get excited because it just felt like THE place.   I hope that we can find that place that is a house for you, and together, you will make it that perfect place to have for you to raise and grow a family that is strong, healthy and full of life. “Home”

God bless you all. Now let’s keep on looking, we will find it and you will know. UB